Two Tales of Blue-eyed Bravery
by LightwoodLady25
Summary: Lucie Herondale loves her father's stories, especially the one about a brave girl who kills monsters. To her knowledge, there is only one version of the tale, but a surprising visit from someone proves otherwise. A Will/Lucie and Lucie/Ella family fic. Two-parts. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**It's a Herondale family fic - in TWO parts this time! Oooh~. (It didn't have to be, but I like it better this way. :P) Thank you to depthsofthemind for requesting and inspiring me to write this; I hope you like it. **

**Post-CP2. Spoilers if you haven't read the epilogue. Fluffy family reunions. **

**Lucie Herondale loves her father's stories, especially the one about a brave, blue-eyed girl who fights monsters. To her knowledge, there's only one version, but a surprising visit from someone proves that that is not the case. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own TID, as Cassandra Clare has that honor. **

Lucie Herondale was impatient. Her father had not told her a bedtime story yet, as he had promised earlier that night. This family ritual was normally given to her mother, Tessa, but she was nursing James back to health and would not leave his room. James was still feverish from staying out in the pouring rain with his cousins for too long, even when their mother had called him to come inside and dry off at least five times. Lucie fidgeted, eager for her father to take her in his lap, her favorite seat in the whole world. There, she would listen with her full attention and wide eyes as he shared tales of enchanted princesses and gallant knights. But he was late this time; Lucie was already in her nightgown and had drawn the covers up to her waist, the best position to be in, just in case she fell asleep partway through the tale. What was taking her father so long? He would have to be punished.

Footsteps outside in the hallway made Lucie's heart beat with excitement; she recognized the steady pattern of steps her father's feet made. Lucie had a brilliant idea; she ducked under the covers when Will knocked on her bedroom door.

"Lucie?" Will's voice called from the other side.

Giggling loudly, Lucie said nothing as the door opened and in stepped Will, still wearing his vest and thick boots. He had come home from his trip later than expected. Glancing around for his little girl, he chuckled to himself when he saw a little mound covered in sheets and thick blankets on his daughter's bed. So, she wanted to play; he would entertain her.

"By the Angel, I wonder where Lucie is. I must say she is an excellent hider, a very useful skill to have as the greatest little Shadowhunter in all of Britain." Will declared in his theatre voice. He strolled around her room in large steps, loud enough for Lucie to know exactly where he was. She could not suppress her laughter; she loved it when her father changed tones for different characters when he was telling stories or playing with her.

Will stopped on the right side of her bed and knelt down to look under it.

"I got you!" Will said, but then loudly let out a sigh of defeat when he saw nothing but darkness and cobwebs. Lucie took her chance. With a war cry loud enough to earn her a scolding from her mother, she flung the covers off and pounced onto her father's back. Will gave a cry of surprise and began to laugh, his sound joining his daughter's in filling the room. Having experience in girls flinging themselves at him (though they were never this tiny or with twin braids in their hair), Will expertly guided a flailing Lucie into his strong arms. Though she tried to squirm free, she squealed with delight. When their laughing subsided, Will kissed Lucie's cheek. He set her down on the bed, grinning as he repeated "I found you."

Lucie grinned back. "No, I found you because I'm the best Shadowhunter in all of Britain!"

"Yes, you are, Lucie. And one of the bravest girls I know." Will sat down next to Lucie, who had already settled under the covers again, although they were a bit messy looking.

"Tell me a bedtime story, Dad! A new one!"

"What do you want to hear about tonight?"

"A brave girl who fights monsters," Lucie answered immediately.

"Like you?" Will asked, his blue eyes shining.

"Like me." Lucie echoed back.

Will thought for a moment, hesitant to begin immediately. It was a simple request. Lucie had asked for more extravagant ones before, ones that even with the help of Tessa did not satisfy Lucie's imagination completely. There was one story he knew that matched what Lucie wanted perfectly, but that tale did not have the same happy ending she was used to hearing. But Lucie's look of eagerness expelled any doubts Will had of telling her a different tale. He would, however, change the ending. The last thing he wanted to do was give her night terrors of dying siblings, especially since James was still bed-ridden and ill.

Taking a deep breath, Will began Lucie's bedtime story.

"Once upon a time, there was a little boy who lived with his parents and two sisters. With her dark blue eyes and thick black curls, the boy's elder sister was one of the bravest girls he knew..."

**A/N: There's fanart of Will with James and Tessa with Lucie. Now, I want to see Will with Lucie and Tessa with James. Can someone make this happen please? And how about the Lightwood children? When do we get to see what all of Gabriel and Gideon's kids look like? I love all reviews, large or small, so feel free to drop one!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part two of two.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TID, as that is Cassandra Clare's honor.**

One day, when Lucie became bored with the outdoor games and tea parties, she decided to retreat to the library. She was staying at her Aunt Cecily and Uncle Gabriel's manor for a couple weeks while her parents and older brother were away at Idris on business. Her parents were hesitant to leave her, even if she was staying with family, but she insisted that she was a big girl and could take care of herself.

Lucie loved her father's side of the family. Aunt Cecily doted on her, slipping her little gifts when her parents weren't looking. Uncle Gabriel was in the habit of telling her stories of her father when he was a boy living in London, although he always ended them very quickly when her father or Aunt Cecily walked into the room. She also liked being with her cousins. They were far more interesting and more fun to be with than James most of the time, though she would not tell that to James or anyone. He was her big brother, and she loved him as much as she loved her parents, but sometimes she did not understand him. Today, however, Lucie needed some quiet and time to herself.

The library doors were heavy, but she managed to crack one of them open just enough to squeeze through. Inside was massive with arching ceilings and tall bookshelves. Climbing a ladder leaning against one of the bookshelves must have been like scaling a tree. Rectangular windows that spanned the floor to the ceiling let in the afternoon's golden light. Thumbing through one of the lower shelves' titles, Lucie had no intention on reading anything new, opting to reread a book of fairy tales. Her Aunt Cecily often read it to her. Lucie settled comfortably in a chair tucked away in a corner, and after reading two stories began to drift asleep, the day's tiring activities catching up to her.

But something would not let her go off into dreamland completely. A presence in the library was near her; Lucie jolted awake. She clutched the book closer to her chest, as if the bound pages would protect her from any harm. A burst of white light emerging from the floor beside her chair caused Lucie to jump. She would have screamed and run for help, had a calming feeling not washed away her panic. It felt like being bathed in sunlight, if sunlight could flow like water.

Lucie stared. This was something out of an old fable, the kind her Welsh grandmother told her. There was a girl in the library with Lucie who emerged from the burst of light. A girl in white, glowing, with white and blue flowers in her hair. Lucie had never met this girl personally, but she had seen her eyes before. They were dark blue, like Aunt Cecily's, like her own father's. Like her own. This was the other brave girl that her father knew.

Lucie's eyes widened. In her shock, she dropped the book. It landed with its pages fanning out across the floor. "You're Ella! I mean, my Aunt Ella."

Ella's eyes widened in return, as wide as saucers in a tea set. "You can see me?" Her voice was strained and surprised. She sounded like a child learning a new fact that completely changed their view of the world.

Lucie nodded her head vigorously, her braids swinging.

"Dad told me about you as a bedtime story. But he said you moved away because you married a mysterious prince who healed you when the monster attacked! He did not say you were an angel..." Lucie mused. Angels, her mother explained one day, did not always have wings. Lucie noticed that about Ella, although the older girl's dress did flow very prettily in layers to her feet, like a waterfall.

A look of concern over Ella's face made Lucie feel guilty about her words. Had she said something wrong?

"Aunt Ella?" Lucie's voice went soft. Ella's eyes were filling with tears; she smiled through them, though Lucie could not tell if they were happy or sad or angry ones. They made her eyes glitter like sapphires.

"Are you afraid, Lucie? To see me here?"

"No, I am not," Lucie replied. There was nothing to be afraid of. Ella was her father's protective elder sister; she could be trusted, just like Aunt Cecily and Aunt Sophie. "But...I am curious. Why are you an angel?"

Ella said nothing, unmoving. She must have been thinking of something serious as her expression changed from moment to moment – sad to nervous to serious to sad again. After a while, Ella leaned down slightly, fully meeting Lucie's gaze, since Ella was much taller than her niece.

"Do you really want to know, Lucie? I'm afraid...the ending is not as happy as the ones in fairy tales. It might make you very sad, which I cannot bear. I only want to see you happy, cariad." Ella's eyes wandered to the upturned book on the floor.

_Cariad_. Lucie had heard that word before. Aunt Cecily called her that many times, especially when Lucie did something sweet, like brush her aunt's or little cousin's hair without being asked. It meant "love' in Welsh, a pet name, her aunt explained when Lucie frowned and said that her name was Lucie, not "cariad". Her father had used it in his story of Ella too. Ella used to call her father cariad when he was afraid or frustrated.

While Lucie loved her father's stories, she felt slightly disappointed that his one of Ella might not have been completely true, especially since Ella was a real girl. But here was Ella, one of the bravest girls her father knew, with the true tale. Lucie was determined to hear it. She would handle sad endings with same strength as a Shadowhunter had going into battle with monsters.

"Yes, I want to hear it." Lucie said firmly.

Ella nodded and sat down on the floor by Lucie's feet. Her skirts pooled around her like petals. Not wanting to feel left out, Lucie jumped off her chair and sat in front of her aunt. She wanted to be close enough to ask questions if Aunt Ella's story turned out to be at all confusing.

"You are very brave," Ella observed.

Lucie smiled. "I'm brave like you." And Ella began her tale.

**A/N: Does anyone think it would be incredibly ironic if Gabriel doted on Lucie and James, since they are Will's children? ****I love reading your reviews, as much as Lucie loves true bedtime stories, so feel free to leave one, short or long. **


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